susieq321

Oh my lord.. I am so not employed by TLBC or slimband I was banded long before they existed... look at my profile and you will see how long I have been a member of this site... want to talk to other bandsters who have met me and who also don't work for a clinic and I can provide those references hell I can even provide a SWLC employee as a reference and she will tell you I am not employed by Slimband... I am a software consultant... right now I work with a fortune 50 company in Colorado Springs... call Slimband and ask... people have met me... lots of them I hosted the Yahoo dinner I have been on here as a member since the site started there are times I have less time to post and more time to post... right now I am trying to refocus so I am making the time to post... people needs support at different times and I can tell that support is working so well on this page! I don't get why the accusations.... if you want a copy of my resume I will send it to you and you will see there is not one once of medical stuff on it.. and I don't plan on changing that. This is insane... people are people people get banded all the time, new people join, old people drop off, just because you don't like what I have to say doesn't make me a plant... Read and you might learn from me and as I read I might learn from you. Just as I might learn from others... and so can you As for why when people leave the clinics they can't set up their own businesses competing with the clinics I work contracts and standard in most of the contracts I sign as non compete clauses which means I can't take all the knowledge and contacts I made for a client and use that for my own gain... or that client can sue me for violating the non compete. The clinic may have similar things set up for employees I know when I was employer all the people who worked for me had long non competes which were very specific.. and almost every contract I sign has similar clauses.

Doddie, I think that everyone needs to hear about the good the bad and the ugly.. .for some of us this is easier than for others. I have always encouraged people to post their challenges. I haven't read all 14 pages and I said that I have read the last 3-4 and some of that was down right nasty.. people saying their experiences were good and being accused of being staff and a plant come on please... if you can't see that you are one person and not everyone has your issues then maybe you are a plant... to make slimband look bad, someone a competitor is paying to take an issue and blow it up and discourage patients! (see that sounds crazy just like accusing someone who has a good experience of being a plant is crazy) Slimband is working to overcome their issues just like any other clinic out there. I don't think harping on the same issues for page after page doesn't anything but feel the negative... and focus on the negative and breeds more negative thoughts. I encourage people to post their challenges their complaints but I also encourage them to address their complaints in a manner that will get addressed by the clinic and posting them on here does nothing but vent which is sometimes very needed.. After reading three pages it is like come on if you change your focus towards the positive maybe more positive things will come of it.... I am not a huge fan of the secret but I have worked affirmations and meditation etc into my life for a lot of years and it works for me... focus on the negative long term and negative things will happen to you.. focus on the positive and the changes will amaze you that happen they may be small but they add up. So by all means everyone vent... but vent and move on and change your focus the longer you hold on to the anger the longer it will hold on to you

Ok now i posted and it won't let me edit the title sorry I spelt Toronto wrong... and it won't let me delete either oh well

So I mentioned started a new thread for Slimband. Last years thread was getting up there to over a dozen pages, lets post our experiences, desires, victories what is working for us and questions that we have! This thread is primarily for Slimband patients formerly TLBC but anyone is welcome but please don't get upset if we talk about our surgeon positively or our clinic in glowing terms. Nothing against any other clinic but we choose our clinic for a reason and that is because it was the best choice for us and we thought it was the best period! I hope this year kicks off a year of losses in weight and gains in so many other areas of people lives! Heather

I lost 150 in about 18 months and have maintained that loss over 5 years now... that is a big thing you need to talk to people about on top of how much they have lost... maintenance Almost all the bypassers I know have regained weight and some significant weight at about the 5-7 year mark... their body has adjusted to the malabsorpation and the reduced calorie intake and they tend to gain. Ask about maintenance and regain it is a biggie for me... I can always get my band adjusted there is no adjust a bypass Good luck with your decision. I can say I love my clinic and my surgeon and he has been great with me. If you want more info on the clinics I can tell you about Slimband. Heather

I haven't read the over a dozen pages but I hope they are not all the same I know the last 3 or 4 I read were nasty and not helpful. TLBC and promises, I would encourage anyone who has a special deal ie fill Drs, anything out of the norm with any surgeon or staff member to get it in writing then there is no confusion as to what and who promised anything. Until you have it in writing there isn't a whole lot you can do about it because it becomes a he said she said situation. As for the rest of it Slimband is a great progressive clinic and they are willing to do things to help their patients. I was looking at the event calendar and things like lectures by Dr Barry Simon who I have heard speak and is amazing he actually gets that our heads are different than people who have never had a weight issue. Today marks my seventh year of banding and I can't tell you how far things have come. When I was banded there were no clinics and lots of promises, I could go on but as I posted somewhere else it is kind of like listening to your parents who walked 40 miles to school in ten feet of snow up hill both ways.... remember it is all about you and you are the one who can do this and you are the only one who is responsible if you succeed or fail! There is absolutely a need to get all the details out good and bad and where you succeed and where you fail but focusing on the negative will only breed more negative. Focusing on things like the compliments you got, how you feel in your body as you lose weight... how you move better how your back hurts less and your knees don't creak... those need to come out too. Maybe this is the time to start posting what works for you... what in the clinic worked for you what you would like to see more of? Maybe with the new year it is time for new goals and new attitudes. It might even be time for a new thread.. to start the new year right and focus on where things are going and good they are. Heather

Dr Joffe's trial was today and he decided to plead guilty and not show up. He has lost his license to practice medicine in Ontario. I am not posting this to stir up anything but so that those patients of Dr Joffe who are not covered by the alternate clinics he has worked with which recently has been CIBO can make alternative arrangements for care and are informed. Heather

Prince arhtur won't do fills except on patients they have banded anyway!

Tyler, Phone a broker that deals with all the companies someone like Money Concepts, their allegiance is to the deal rather than specific companies and they can get you quotes on a variety of types and coverages etc. Good luck it all depends on your overall health expect to pay more as an obese person though. Heather

Who logs in an regularly checks their clinic websites and support centres (TLBC and SWLC are the only two in Canada i know of with this service offered) ? If you do use it what attracts you and why do you love it? And if you don't what would make you use it more....? I have to admit I log in once in a blue moon but not very often being 6+ years out I find it hard enough to read here and the Canadian Lapbanders so I tend to ignore my clinic's sites. I rarely go for fills mostly defills and then I only see my surgeon since I am a walking complication and I enjoy comparing notes with him... I never even go to my clinic... I don't know the staff other than one or two from a social occasion and have no desire to know them. But I also know my situation is radically different than most people they still go to their clinics for fills and see the nurses over the surgeons and get the advice etc.. but since I have been at goal since long before the clinic even opened there isn't much they can do for me or advice they can offer me. HEather

Tracey, Thanks I know you are active on SWLC I am not sure if TLBC had an option for posting etc earlier I would have been active on that or not in my case I think it just came a little later I used to go on and post the monthly lunches but overall I don't do a lot of posting on it or reading. H

Sorry It starts at noon

This coming Sunday sorry for the short notice I have booked us into Milestone at Scarborough Town Centre everyone is welcome regardless of Doctor/Clinic or if they are banded or not... Reply here on email me privately at susieq321@Hotmail.com Heather Milestones Restaurants - Scarborough Scarborough 300 Borough Drive T: 416.290.0464 F: 416.290.0438 Menu Online Milestones Restaurants - The Menu

Tyler, That is great and you are very fortunate.. and I am glad he wants you to do the research understand what can go wrong along with what goes right. This is a life time commitment and requires changing your life sometimes in smaller ways and sometimes in bigger ways. I think there are too many people who jump in without doing the research or understanding the complications and what they can do to your physically but mostly mentally... good luck it sounds like you have placed your trust in a good man and in turn he is placing his trust in you and putting some skin in your game! Heather

Double check with your doc/clinic most say yes to coffee in Clear Liquids no to milk or cream or anything but black coffee during this phase as adding things to it makes it not a clear liquid. Same with tea etc Heather

Go to a GNC or similar store and tell them what you are doing and that you want a high Protein low carb low sodium low sugar Meal Replacement shake and they should be able to help you... if i remember correctly optifast has to be prescribed by a dr. Heather

I am vain there is no question about it.... once my thighs are done I should be size 6-8 (already there in skirts and dresses chunky thighs are now the bane of my existence) Some people are less vain and don't mind the extra skin but it drives me nuts to try on pants and have them way huge in the waist and then too small in the thighs.... it doesn't make sense so getting my thighs done is a vanity thing and a mental health thing to make me happy. When you are more content in your body and the way you look the happier you are the better a life you have..... if you can be happy without PS go for it...... I have a great life with or without plastic but I love the way I look with it!!!! And if it came to it I would do face work too! Heather

Take it easy Love and drink lots and lots... we are all different by day four post surgery I was driving from Toronto to Boston and by day 6 I was on a plane to Dallas and day 7 I was teaching classes for 10 hours a day but I didn't have issues keeping things down. And was up and walking through the mall on Day 2. The dizziness will pass soon if it doesn't call the clinic and ask about it. Good luck Heather

But what about when that badge of honor causes infections, makes you jean size 4 sizes up from where it would be if you only didn't have that loose skin.... sure it makes you look better and it is vanity in some aspects but it is also your mental health along with your physical health.... I went from a size 16 to a 10 with a TT..... that is a lot of loose skin why should I carry it around? Losing weight is the badge of honor being healthy is a badge of honor not extra skin and stretch marks for me!!! Heather

Yasmina, Tracey is completely right on this one OHIP covers what is called a Panni... and only in cases where the apron is interfering with your quality of life, ie rashes and scarring from the rashes requiring home care and this must be documented over a period of time. Breast reduction is covered if they remove more than 500cc of tissue (which is the equivalent to a c to d cup implant, my PS tossed it over and said if I take that much out what will you have left.... ) (Both the TT and breast lift add the tightening of tissue to the surgery and are done in a private clinic where OHIP is done in a hospital) OHIP used to cover panni's with relative ease but because of the increase in WLS and patients wanting the surgery they now make the surgeons jump through hoops to get it covered. I asked when I had PS 4.5 years ago. I know some people who have had portions covered of PS but their surgeons have fudged their records in my opinion based on what they told me and frankly I wouldn't want to go to a surgeon who is willing to shortcut for OHIP to pay cause what are they going to shortcut on the table while they have me open. My other opinion on this is choose a PS who has a lot of experience with Weight loss patients because our skin is a lot different than most people it is damaged and stretched and it is much harder to work with and get the results you want if you are not as experienced with patients who have had dramatic weight loss. Heather

It really is so individual who gets what and wants what for PS.... some people don't care about the sagging skin me I am shallow I care.... I would rather have a tighter body enhanced with PS. It is so individual

I will go against the grain I never want to see the lap band covered call me all the names in the book I am ok with being an elitist snob for a lot of reasons... If it is covered there won't be more time for WLS surgery it will just be another surgery on the schedule and there is already a 7 year wait in ON for the bypass. people who are self pay take it more seriously and tend do better than people who have it paid because they have skin in the game (that comes from talking to WLS in the US where there are both options) and a host of other reasons I know it is a hardship for some but hell I had to pay too and I found the money.... I am glad the On legislature passed a bill to not cover the band. Heather

Mandi, I am sorry and my thoughts are with know this, there is no right or wrong in how you grieve... I never cried over my brother when he died I was too busy being angry I love him but I was mad he was killed. Know you got to spend time with her and she was happy at the end and that is what truly matters more than anything else.... Take care of yourself Heather

It all depends on you, your genetics, how overweight you are when you start, how stretched is your skin, how much elastin do you have... the more you have to lose, the older you are, the paler skin you have the more likely you are to want to have PS when you are done... you don't have to get it and I know more bandsters who haven't had plastic than I know who have... I know people who have lost over 150 lbs and didn't have any plastic they were happy with their bodies. Here is what will help a bit, toned muscles, Vitamin e cream.. but they are just surface items. Me I was fine with my thighs until I had a tummy tuck several years ago... and since then I have wanted my thighs done I have postponed for my own reasons work, family health etc.. they will get done when I have 6 weeks in a row that I am not traveling somewhere... and my family is in good health so I don't have to worry about someone taking care of multiple people and my job allows for me to take time and not be on deadlines! Good luck... after my thighs I will consider my arms and maybe an ass lift... I love my flat tummy and perky boobs best thing I ever did. Heather

Doddie, Now when I say it I say it with a laugh which doesn't come through in an email and politics are politics... I don't have to like their leader or his actions and I am allowed to speak my mind and I do this about cdn politics as well. And lets face it there are very few differences in reality between cdns and americans and the way we see the world having lived and traveled long term all over north america, really there is little more than a border line and different govt's separating us. I didn't criticize a host, I criticized two god awful dishes in my mind.... I would never critique my hosts menu during dinner or to them, if offered something I don't enjoy I decline it with a polite no thank you, everywhere I go for holiday dinners these are family favorites... I don't have to eat what I don't like and as I said I am just thankful it never caught on in Canada and regardless of how much I love my hosts I don't have to love everything they serve me. And if they ask me about a dinner even if the served nothing I enjoyed eating I would still tell them truthfully the company makes the meal..... because as a general rule I don't eat meals with people that I am not fond of when it is by my choice. PS it is Heather not Susie... Heather